An historical walk

For no particular reason, except perhaps out of a sense of nostalgia and a newly discovered fondness for plotting routes on maps and satellite photos, while showering this morning I came up with the idea of mapping a walk I did in Tokyo a few years ago. Now I've done my fair share of walking in the Japanese capital over the years, but this walk was special in that I did it alone in the middle of the night.

I was staying at a friend's place in Kanda, and went out one evening to meet some people for a drink in Shimo-Kitazawa. I was aware that the Tokyo subway shuts down around midnight, but still ended up cutting it a bit too fine coming home. I got the train to Shibuya OK. Unfortunately by the time I got to the subway station there to catch my next train I found the last one had already left.

Anyone with half a brain would have taken a taxi, but I was feeling pretty merry and decided it was a nice night for a walk. I forget exactly how long it took me and the actual route I took (hence I didn't actually get around to mapping it), but I do remember a few things quite clearly, such as being propositioned by a lady of the night on the outskirts of Shibuya and nervously passing some riot squad members on foot patrol near the Japanese parliament.

I was pretty tired towards the end and every time I saw a taxi I vaguely considered hailing it. I pushed on, however, and made it back to my friend's place without any major dramas. Looking at a map now, I reckon it must have been around 8km. Nothing really. But it seemed quite a feat at the time.

Distance walked today: 3km
Total distance walked since blog began: 356.9km
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 82

Two rivers (the result)

OK, so it wasn't quite two rivers (one and a bit, if you count the couple of hundred metres or so I walked alongside the Avon on my way home), but how many people can say they've walked the length of the Heathcote River from Spreydon to the Estuary? It actually ended up at just over 30km, which was about what I wanted to do anyway.

In another change to the original plan, I had lunch at my sister's house in Opawa (hence the blip at around the 13km mark) instead of at Ferrymead. Stephanie had invited me for a cup of tea, but by the time I got there it was practically lunchtime, plus she'd just taken a batch of date scones out of the oven, and once I started I just couldn't stop eating them. I stayed for about half an hour then pushed on to Ferrymead. I had another break there for a coffee then turned around and headed home via town. With about 2km to go I stopped in at the supermarket at Barrington's to get something for dinner, and by chance bumped into Keiko (who'd accompanied me for the first hour or so of the walk) and ended up riding the rest of the way home in the car.

The verdict? Walking 20km is relatively easy. After that the body starts to tire and the legs start to ache. Hopefully all this training will pay off and by the time I get to Japan I won't tire as quickly and will recover more rapidly.

Distance walked today: 31.5km
Total distance walked since blog began: 353.9km
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 85

Two rivers (the route)

It's over 30km, all right. In fact, it's over 40km! Lucky I mapped it out first, otherwise I would have been in for a nasty surprise tomorrow. I could cut it down to a manageable length by taking a shortcut from around the 23km mark to the 33km mark, but then I wouldn't be able to visit my father in New Brighton or stop in at K's for a cup of tea. Alternatively I could walk as far as the centre of town and then take the bus home, but that would still make it around 40km. Erik did 40km. He also felt like a piece of shit afterwards. I've got around 17 hours to come up with another plan.

Distance walked today: 3km
Total distance walked since blog began: 322.4km
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 86

Two rivers (the plan)

Yesterday I sat down and planned a hike that'll take me east along the Heathcote River as far as the Estuary and then back into town along the Avon River, taking in several walks from the City Council's Walk Christchurch book along the way, as well as a section along the Avon River I covered last Saturday. I'm not sure exactly how far it'll be, but I'm banking on it being over 30km.

One part of town that's not really covered in the book is the area west of the Estuary from Ferrymead to South New Brighton. There are some parks and bird-watching areas in the vicinity, but most of the area is taken up with Te Huingi Manu Wildlife Reserve, which you need special permission to enter.

It's been lovely and warm the last couple of days. I just hope the nice weather continues until Saturday, which is when I intend to put the plan into action.

Distance walked today: 3km
Distance walked yesterday: 3km
Total distance walked since blog began: 319.4km
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 87

Ramble to Riccarton

Distance walked today: 7.6km
Total distance walked since blog began: 313.4km
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 89

Plod to Petworth Place

Distance walked today: 9.8km
Total distance walked since blog began: 305.8km
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 90

A Sunday stroll

I've always been captivated by the view of the Port Hills you get walking along Wrights Road past Addington Raceway, although it's slowly disappearing now that offices are going up on the once vacant land next to the raceway itself. Having walked along the hills just over a week ago, I viewed them in a slightly different light today as I tried to make out some of the highlights of last weekend's trek. And then there was Worsleys Track, which wasn't hard to find. It was the muddy brown scar through the pine trees just along from the Sign of the Kiwi.

I've often thought that if I ever became a landscape painter the view of the Port Hills from the city would be one of the first things I'd try to paint. But at one point during last week's walk I had a completely different thought. It was while I was looking down over the other side of the hills at Lyttelton Harbour. What's the point in trying to capture something like this in a painting? I thought. Or any other kind of art, for that matter. How can you possibly do it justice?

The only way you can really share something like that with someone is to drag them up there with you. Even then the chances of them being moved in the same way as you by the same views are pretty slim. Maybe there are some things we just have to savour alone.

Distance walked today: 7.7km
Total distance walked since blog began: 296km
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 91

Return to the Treatise on the Function of Art

Among the torrent of replies to the Treatise on the Function of Art I posted back in May was an email from my brother in Bhutan. He took exception not to the main thrust of my argument, which was about art representing the fulfillment of a desire to connect with others by expressing common feelings or ideas, but to something that I'd taken completely for granted; that is, the idea that we make art to satisfy a creative urge. (Perhaps I should have heeded the warning of Theodor Adorno, who in 1970 said, "It is now taken for granted that nothing which concerns art can be taken for granted any more.")

My brother called mine a Western perspective, and rightly pointed out that in earlier years in the West, and still now in Bhutan, religious painting is anonymous and that the ego doesn't come into it. While there is some creativity, he said, the emphasis is on draftsmanship. I guess the purpose of art in this context is to transmit what is believed to be some universal and eternal religious truth, so of course the less the individual tampers with the content the better.

It's a valid point, and one that I should have acknowledged in my treatise, but as a committed materialist living in 21st century New Zealand, I couldn't say I was prepared to give it much further thought in the run up to producing whatever art it is I do as part of the Kisokaido Project. For me personally, art is all about individual expression. But is it really?

The reason I'm bringing this up now is that the other day I read this interview with jazz bassist Gary Peacock, and ever since I've been thinking that just maybe I've got it all wrong. Talking about his trio playing with pianist Keith Jarrett and drummer Jack DeJohnette, Peacock stressed the need to not have an agenda or feel you need to prove something.

It's just the music. What does the music want? Almost all of the music I play with Keith and Jack are like flowers. There's this beautiful bouquet of flowers, so the idea is to really nourish them. You wouldn't trample them, you wouldn't give them too much water or you'd drown them. How do I nourish these flowers so they can really express themselves? You approach the music from that standpoint, rather than as a vehicle for your technique or your self-expression. Creativity is not the point. It's just about the music.

So here we have a musician I respect playing a very modern form of non-religious music in which individual creativity has traditionally been heralded denying that creativity is the point. Now some of the music these three people make together, and especially the solo piano playing of Keith Jarrett (another person who describes his music in spiritual terms), moves me like no other art I've ever come across. And at the risk of being caught out again, isn't emotional impact one of the qualities we all look for in art? So perhaps it's not surprising that when I read statements like the above my commitment to materialism starts to waver ever so slightly.

Distance walked today: 3km
Total distance walked since blog began: 288.3km
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 92

A Journey to the Heart of Japan

The other day I sat down and read through the account of the journey along the Nakasendo from a modern-day traveler's perspective that forms part of Nakasendo Highway: A Journey to the Heart of Japan, a website put together by Dr. R.T.A. Irving of Kwansei Gakuin University in Sanda, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, and Dr. Thomas A. Stanley, Department of History, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

The website began as a multimedia CD-ROM project, and despite its rather clunky, old-fashioned appearance and the occasional dud link, I'm finding it a great source of information. There's plenty more to it besides the account I read, including historical information, maps, photos, and glossaries. I'm seriously considering printing some of it out and taking it with me.

Here are two brief extracts. I chose them not because they're outstandingly insightful or anything but because they describe a couple of spots I'm vaguely familiar with from my travels in Shiga prefecture in October 2005.

The traveler may hardly notice passing from Otsu to the next town of Zeze since the road is lined continuously with old houses and small shops. Zeze was the site of a castle in the Edo period, and although no trace remains today of the castle buildings, the street pattern still follows the layout of the original castle town. Thus, where the Nakasendo entered the town through a gate in the old castle walls, the road still traces a double set of right-angled turns known as a dog-leg (masugata). This was a device to confuse potential attackers and to expose their flank to fire from defenders. Nowadays it still serves to confuse car drivers unfamiliar with the town.

The long section of old highway between Moriyama and Musa (eight and a half miles) passes a number of contrasting landscapes. At Yasu there is a fine view of Omi Fuji, one of many lesser hills in Japan which, because of a vague similarity in shape, have assumed the name of the sacred mountain, Mount Fuji. Just like the real Fuji, however, the area surrounding it has become home to many new industrial developments in recent years. After all, compared to the metropolitan centers of Osaka, Kyoto, or Nagoya land here is cheap, but access to these markets via the Meishin Expressway is easy.

Update: I've fixed the link to the Nakasendo Highway: A Journey to the Heart of Japan website, which I'm delighted to report has been completely redesigned and is no longer "clunky" or "old-fashioned".

Distance walked today: 0km
Total distance walked since blog began: 285.3km
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 93

Thursday, 19 July 2007

The legs felt pretty good this morning. Certainly not as bad as they felt on Sunday after Saturday's hill climb. But I reckon it'll be a while before I'm able to do back-to-back 30km+ walks, which is what we'll face when we hit Japan in 94 days.

Distance walked today: 3km
Total distance walked since blog began: 285.3km
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 94

City to surf (well, almost)

Actually, I wasn't expecting today's walk to be quite so far. I was banking on it being about 20km. Not an unpleasant day's walk, though. Started out drizzly, then fined up in the afternoon. Walking along the river was nice. Lots of ducks, geese, and even some swans with singlets. OK, so they were cygnets. Had a break for lunch at my father's. The legs are pretty tired now. But nothing a nice hot bath won't fix. Hopefully.

Distance walked today: 26.6km
Distance walked yesterday: 3km
Total distance walked since blog began: 282.3km
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 95

Recovery and relief

My thighs and calves were still a bit sore today from Saturday's hike, but to my great relief the toe and groin came through the ordeal completely unscathed. I wish I could say the same for my shoes. Despite my best cleaning efforts, they're still rather muddy.

I walked down to the supermarket this afternoon, and along the way I glanced up at the Port Hills and felt quite a sense of accomplishment as I realized how far I'd actually walked. I may have given the impression in Saturday's post that I didn't enjoy myself, but it was in many a respects a very satisfying day. I packed some lunch and a flask of coffee which I enjoyed perched on a rocky outcrop with a magnificent panoramic view of the city. Later on, just before my rather hectic decent down Worsleys Track, I caught a glimpse of Lake Ellesmere to the south. I've decided to stick to the flat for the time being as I try to build up my stamina, but no doubt I'll be back up on the hills before too long.

Yesterday I took a day off from walking. I finished folding the Nakasendo walking map and confirmed another booking on the accommodation list. That brings the total to eleven confirmed so far, with another eleven remaining. Some of these don't accept bookings this far in advance, while others (mostly small inns in out-of-way locations) don't have email and will require a phone call.

Distance walked today: 3km
Total distance walked since blog began: 252.7km
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 97

Muddy trails

Hopefully the graphic gives you some idea of the constant up/down nature of today's walk. What it doesn't show is the shocking state of some of the paths I followed. Or tried to follow. Often the trails petered out and I found myself stumbling across slippery tussock-covered slopes and along stock trails searching for the walking track, and once I found my path blocked my three huge cows and had to carefully negotiate my way around.

But by far the worst part of today's walk was the truly treacherous Worsleys Track, popular with both mountain bikers and four-wheel drive enthusiasts, who together have transformed it into something resembling a rutted mudslide. A torrent of water was actually flowing down one of the ruts for much of the way, and it wasn't even raining. Incredibly, I made it to the bottom without once slipping, although my shoes and the bottom of trousers were covered in mud.

It was only when I made it back onto the flat that I realized how tired my legs were. But a couple of kilometers later I found myself on my old jogging route and, bizarre though it may seem, I felt the urge to break into a run, so eager was I to get home.

Distance walked today: 19.3km
Total distance walked since blog began: 249.7km
Maximum altitude reached: 450m
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 99

100 days to go!

Oh well, not quite 15km, but a nice little warm-up before tomorrow's (hopefully) much longer effort.

100 days to go!

Distance walked today: 10.2km
Total distance walked since blog began: 230.4km
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 100

Getting ahead

More map folding today, and booking of accommodation. This afternoon it struck me that a day hasn't gone by recently when I haven't done something to move the Kisokaido Project forward, to move it a step closer to becoming a reality. Which made me think, what will I do when it's all over? I know, I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. I'm planning a 15km-plus walk tomorrow, and another on Saturday.

Distance walked today: 3km
Total distance walked since blog began: 220.2km
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 101

Repercussions

My legs were a bit sore from the hill climb the other day, plus I had quite a bit of work to get through, so apart from journeying to the letterbox and back, I stayed inside the entire day today. I did have time to do some more map folding (I'm over half way to Tokyo already!), plus I booked my accommodation in Osaka for the night of my arrival in Japan on October 20 and in Kyoto for the following two nights.

I spoke to Erik yesterday and again today. He's agreed to take some time to think about my 126 words. He also wrote some nice things about me on his blog yesterday, which prompted me to suggest my role in the Kisokaido art project could be as his muse.

Distance walked today: 0km
Total distance walked since blog began: 217.2km
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 103

A minor dilema

How do I keep the map dry? If it were a single sheet it wouldn't be a problem. I'd simply keep it in a plastic sleeve of some kind. But it's folded concertina fashion, which means I'll have to turn the "page" every two kilometres or so. Even if I find somewhere dry to take it out of the plastic and do this, my hands will be wet and eventually the map will get soaked. Then again, maybe it won't rain and this will be academic.

Distance walked today: 3km
Total distance walked since blog began: 217.2km
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 104

Spur of the moment

I'd planned to spend my day off today in front of the TV watching Live Earth, but by midday I was tired of the constant interruptions (both for commercials and the equally repetitive "feature videos") and Al Gore worshipping. Listening to Melissa Etheridge introduce Gore as though he was the messiah was the last straw. I decided it was time to go for a walk.

I quickly mapped out a route in my head that would have taken me to town and back via Riccarton. But instead, I headed in the opposite direction, up Memory Hill to the Sign of the Takahe and then on to the Sign of The Kiwi.

It was bitterly cold this morning but fine when I left, so I was unsure as to whether I should wear my cowboy hat to keep off the sun or my woolen beanie to keep out the cold. In the end I wore the beanie and put the cowboy hat in my bag, which turned out to be a smart move as by the time I was half way up Hackthorne Road I was warm enough to discard both the beanie and the gloves I'd popped on before setting off.

Being a Sunday, walkers, joggers and cyclists were out in force. I lost count of how many verbal greetings I exchanged on the way up. On the way down I started avoiding eye contact with other walkers and imagined I was on the Nakasendo. Maybe the altitude was getting to me.

Distance walked today: 16.2km
Total distance walked since blog began: 214.2km
Maximum altitude reached: 365m
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 105

Two people, two approaches

I was surprised and, yes, disappointed at Erik's negative reaction to my 126 words. It seems to have created some tension between us, but we'll get over it and the Kisokaido Project will go ahead. Ironically, however, in light of all the time we've spent bouncing ideas off each other about the art component of the project, it may well be in a form closer to that which I envisaged back when Erik first mentioned that he wanted to join me on the walk and make art along the way, which is of me concentrating on the walking experience and him concentrating on the artmaking experience.

It wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened. I'm reminded of Bashing Ronald, the movie Erik made about the Tokyo anti-McDonald's protest we were involved in back in 1997. Because his focus was entirely on making the movie, he felt he couldn't actually take part in the protest. Today Erik explained on the wiki that he couldn't afford to be involved in personal projects that didn't further his goal of becoming a full-time artist, and that he wouldn't be involved in a trek like Kisokaido if he didn't think he'd end up with a body of (marketable) work at the end. I'm not saying this approach is wrong, just pointing out that as someone who doesn't aspire to becoming a full-time artist my goals and priorities are different, that for me the experience takes precedence over the art.

In a way, the collaboration aspect is what really attracted me to the Kisokaido art project. I envy Erik's creativity, and was excited at the prospect of working on something together. The thought of working on a separate art project alongside his just doesn't have the same appeal, so I can't see myself devoting much time to this. I'll certainly be recording the experience in some form or another (in writing and/or video), but I'll be doing my best to ensure this doesn't get in the way of the experience itself.

Distance walked today: 0km
Total distance walked since blog began: 198km
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 106

Gray day

Worked. Ate lunch. Walked to supermarket and back. Worked.

Distance walked today: 3km
Total distance walked since blog began: 198km
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 107

126 words

While the organization of the travel side of the Kisokaido Project is coming along nicely, the art component of the project is still in a pretty nebulous state. At Erik's encouragement, and partly in response to the 200 words he wrote in order to propel the evolution of his own artmaking, I've come up with the following 126 words in an effort to move the art side of the Kisokaido Project along.

I should stress that these are not demands. They're a kind of wish list, really, and I'm happy to discuss, amend, add to, or subtract from them. The first four items relate more to the creative process, while the final three relate more to the presentation of the finished artwork(s). But then who's to say the two stages won't overlap?

So, in my humble opinion, the project should satisfy the following criteria.

1) It should acknowledge the influence of Hiroshige, whose Sixty-Nine Stations of the Kisokaido initially inspired the project and who continues to be a key reference point.

2) It should reflect a critical or skeptical approach to capitalism and its impact on people and the environment.

3) It should not entail creating artificial barriers between us and the people we meet (i.e. no clown suits), nor should it impinge on our day-to-day interaction with people.

4) It should be fun.

5) It should be presented in such a way that it is accessible to as many people as possible (i.e. its appreciation should not require ownership of prohibitively expensive equipment or familiarity with a particular language or culture).

6) It should promote communication and participation.

7) It should not be bought or sold.

Distance walked today: 3km
Total distance walked since blog began: 195km
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 108

109 days to go

This afternoon I walked across to Magnum Mac in Sydenham to buy a new power adaptor for my iBook. (Ignore the distance markers on the map above, by the way. Don't now what went wrong there!) On the way back I popped in to Rebel Sports and couldn't resist trying on some Team Stolite rain trousers, which were on sale at 30% off. I ended up buying them. They're navy blue, and go nicely with my "ocean" (light blue) Gore-Tex jacket. (The old Gore-Tex rain pants I had were an almost fluorescent bright green and clashed a bit with the jacket, plus they were dirty and worn.) I thought of adding another tally at the bottom of each post keeping track of how much I've spent on the Kisokaido Project, but decided it was too scary. Instead I've added a countdown showing how many days left until the launch of the project on 22 October (the day before our departure from Kyoto).

Oh, big news! Erik has bought his tickets! You can see how happy he is here.

Distance walked today: 8.4km
Total distance walked since blog began: 192km
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 109

Rolling vs folding

The thought of carrying something resembling a toilet roll the length of the Nakasendo finally got to me today, and I decided to fold the walking map. When I first unrolled it shortly after it arrived back in May, I discovered it was in a dozen or so lengths, which I joined with sticky tape when I rolled it up again. So today I started unjoining these lengths (each representing around two days' walking) and folding each one individually like a concertina. Rather than walking around with an unwieldy roll of paper in my hands I'll have something about the size of a deck of cards. The folds are just over 5cm apart, representing about 1km in real life, so this will also help us keep track of distances. If this all sounds rather confusing, the photos near the bottom of this page should make it a bit clearer.

Distance walked today: 3km
Total distance walked since blog began: 183.6km

Shoes

I walked to Riccarton Mall and back this morning - the long way. While there I tried on some waterproof shoes, including some New Balance 965s and some Rockports. I found the 965s a little stiff and uncomfortable, surprising considering the sole is exactly the same as the 748s I already own. The Rockports probably felt the best, but they also had the biggest price tag (nearly NZ$300).

At the last minute I decided to try on a pair of 748s in the size larger than the ones I have, mainly because I wanted to see if it was the newness of the 965s that was the cause of the stiffness. It wasn't. I found the new 748s quite a bit more comfortable than the 965s. In fact they were probably as comfortable as the Rockports, but only half the price.

My 748s have performed pretty well in light rain, so the question is do I want to shell out a lot more to guarantee my feet stay dry. At the moment I'm tempted to get another pair of 748s, but I might wait until I've tried my current pair in some seriously wet weather before making a final decision.

Distance walked today: 10.6km
Total distance walked since blog began: 180.6km

Plan B

I had another day off today, so the plan was to back up yesterday's effort with a walk of a similar distance today. Keiko and I had to go over to New Brighton, where my father and his partner live, to pick up some curtains. My idea was to drive over and then have Keiko bring the car back while I walked home, a distance of around 13km. I even went as far as plotting the route on MapMyWalk to confirm the distance.

In the end, however, things didn't quite work out as planned. We were pressed for time, and Keiko decided she wanted to go for a walk too, so after driving to my father's we left the car there and did what we thought was a 5km circuit (which turned out to be more like 7km) taking in nearby New Brighton Beach before driving home together. We didn't get back till after dark, but it was a beautiful afternoon, warmer even than yesterday, and it was fun walking through a part of town neither of us was very familiar with. In fact we both felt as though we could have been in some completely different city, in some completely different country. Strange how you can live virtually your entire life in some place and still not really know it.

Distance walked today: 9.9km
Total distance walked since blog began: 170km